Osamu Dazai

Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Shūji Tsushima ( 19 June 1909 – 13 June 1948), known by his pen name Osamu Dazai (太宰 治), was a Japanese novelist and author. A number of his most popular works, such as The Setting Sun (Shayō) and No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shikibu and Fyodor Dostoevsky. While Dazai continues to be widely celebrated in Japan, he remains relatively unknown elsewhere, with only a handful of his works available in English. His last book, No Longer Human, is his most popular work outside of Japan.